Kathmandu , Nepal -LRB- CNN -RRB- More than 4,600 people dead . More than 9,000 injured . Eight million affected across Nepal . One million children urgently in need of help .

Those are the startling numbers that indicate the scale of the devastation from the huge earthquake that struck the Himalayan nation on Saturday .

And some of the grim figures are likely to get even worse as hopes of rescuing any more survivors diminish every hour .

Heartbreaking scenes of suffering and loss are playing out across this shell-shocked nation as it reels from its deadliest natural disaster in more than 80 years .

As the country coped with the fallout of the quake , another natural disaster struck Tuesday afternoon in a popular trekking area north of Kathmandu , and up to 200 people were feared missing as a result of a landslide , a trekking association official said .

It happened around 4 p.m. in Langtang National Park , said Ramesh Dhamala , president of the Trekking Agents of Nepal . Laxmi Dhakal , spokesman for Nepal 's Home Ministry , said he was aware of reports about the landslide but was n't immediately able to confirm details .

Quake relief efforts continued Tuesday , but officials warned that they were hampered by problems of getting aid into the country and then delivering it to some of the remote communities in desperate need .

In Kathmandu , a capital city of shattered temples and toppled houses , some people paid their last respects to loved ones taken by the quake .

By the Bagmati River , which winds through the city , more than a dozen funeral pyres burned Monday .

As workers stoked the flames for the Hindu cremation ceremonies , some mourners shaved their heads in a traditional show of mourning from children who lose their parents .

Alongside their father , two teenage brothers from the Gurung family , Ishan and Iman , said goodbye to their mother , Ishara .

`` We never imagined this would happen to us . This much pain , '' said Ishan , the elder of the two .

Elsewhere in the city , many shaken residents are sleeping in the open . Some have lost their homes , others are afraid to stay in buildings that may be vulnerable to aftershocks .

Large encampments of tents have sprung up in open areas , including a wide space belonging to the military in the center of the city that is typically used for parades . One of the grand gates to the field is now just a pile of rubble .

Kisnor Raj Giri , a 22-year-old man from Kathmandu who lost members of his extended family in the quake , said he was too scared to return home .

He is camping out at the military grounds with thousands of others even though frequent rain has made the nights an ordeal .

`` Many people are crying , sharing their hardships , '' he told CNN on Monday evening .

The elements showed no mercy to the homeless masses on Tuesday as thunderstorms rumbled over Kathmandu . More bad weather is forecast for the region in the coming days .

But in one piece of good news , Turkish and Chinese rescue crews helped pull free a 21-year-old man trapped under rubble near a city bus park in a 13-hour rescue operation .

Houses and families ripped apart by earthquake

The death toll has now climbed above 4,600 in Nepal , officials said Tuesday evening , as rescue and relief efforts continue .

Nepal army Lt. Col. A. J. Thapa told CNN 's Sumnima Udas that the first 72 hours after the earthquake is the time when the most lives can be saved .

`` This is not the time to rest and lament , '' he said . `` This is the time to go out and save lives . ''

Thapa said an entire military post was lost during an avalanche .

`` Remember we are not an outside force that has been parachuted into an area to help , '' he said . `` We are victim ourselves . ... Despite the fact that soldiers have their families and houses are down , we are trying to build morale , maintain morale and help themselves . ''

Thapa said it was fortunate that the quake struck during daylight on a weekend .

`` Children were not trapped in big schools somewhere and lot of people were outside because it was daytime , '' he said .

Dhakal , the Home Ministry spokesman , put the death toll at 4,620 , while Nepal 's National Emergency Coordination Center said the number of dead was 4,727 . Both sources gave the number of people injured as 9,239 .

Another 72 people died in India , while China reported 25 deaths .

Most of the casualty numbers in Nepal are believed to have come mainly from Kathmandu and the surrounding area . They are expected to climb as information emerges from remote areas .

`` We have incomplete information , but we apprehend the death toll will go up , '' Nepalese Information Minister Minendra Rijal told CNN earlier on Tuesday . `` We can not say by how much exactly . ''

The news agency Reuters cited Prime Minister Sushil Koirala as saying that the toll could reach 10,000 and that the country was `` on a war footing '' in its rescue and relief work .

In a live , televised address to the nation , the Prime Minister said the country had been stunned by the disaster and announced three days of national mourning , starting Tuesday .

The government 's first priority is to continue search and rescue operations and relief efforts , he said , as he thanked all those involved . Historic and religious monuments destroyed by the earthquake will be reconstructed in time , he added .

At least 90 % of 96,000 Nepali army troops have been deployed in relief and rescue operations , according to Nepal army spokesman Jagadish Chandra Pokharel .

More than 15 countries and agencies have already promised help , Koirala said , as he appealed for other nations also to come to Nepal 's aid .

Even as international aid pours into the country , overwhelmed hospitals are lacking vital medical supplies , people remain buried in the wreckage of buildings and rescuers are struggling to reach hard-hit rural areas near the quake 's epicenter .

`` The biggest problem is reaching these villages , '' Matt Darvas , an emergency communications officer for the humanitarian group World Vision , told CNN from Gorkha district , northwest of Kathmandu .

Nepal struggles to cope with international aid

Nepali Home Ministry Joint Secretary Sagar Mani Parajuli , who is coordinating relief efforts , said government efforts to get aid to remote areas had been hampered by rugged terrain and poor weather , which limits the use of helicopters .

`` The helicopters are small . They do n't fly in windy and cloudy conditions . Given Nepal 's geographical terrain , we can not use surface transport much but are using it , '' he said .

`` We need 150,000 tents and tarpaulins , but we do n't have enough of them . ''

Jamie McGoldrick , the U.N. resident coordinator for Nepal , told a news conference Tuesday that bringing in relief materials has been difficult because Kathmandu 's international airport , which has just one runway and space for only a limited number of aircraft to park , is log jammed .

The United Nations is aware of the request for tents , he said , but is working to procure high quality ones to withstand the expected monsoon rains .

Of the 8 million people affected by the quake across 39 districts of Nepal , some 1.4 million need food aid , McGoldrick added . Nepal 's population is about 31 million .

At an event in Paris , U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his condolences to the people of Nepal and called the humanitarian needs `` huge and urgent . ''

`` The United Nations is supporting international operations for search and rescue and strengthening relief efforts , '' he said . `` I count on the generosity of the international community in Nepal 's hour of need and the longer term rebuilding efforts that will be needed . ''

A CNN team that joined a Nepalese military helicopter flight to Dhulikhel , a rural area east of Kathmandu , saw extensive damage in the Kathmandu Valley from the air , including many landslides .

On landing , the team went to a hospital where all the injured from six surrounding districts are being brought . More than 1,000 people are currently in the hospital -- three times its usual capacity -- so some of the injured are being left out in the streets .

Social media posts from Nepal

Darvas of World Vision said he had been told of frightening levels of damage in villages in the region surrounding Gorkha district , which is near the earthquake 's epicenter .

They included one where 35 out of 45 homes were destroyed and another where 70 % of the houses had collapsed , trapping and crushing the people inside , most of them children and the elderly .

Even though aid groups and Nepalese officials are aware of critical situations in areas spread across Nepal 's mountainous terrain , they face daunting challenges getting help to them .

`` Some of those villages -- several years ago , before there was vehicle transport -- used to take seven days to reach . Roads are shut now to some of those villages , so we can only imagine how long it will take to get there , '' Darvas said Monday .

He said injured people who had been airlifted from some remote areas were often suffering from crush injuries , lacerations and dislocations .

Looking for missing loved ones in Nepal ? CNN iReport wants to help

UNICEF , the U.N. children 's agency , said Sunday that nearly 1 million Nepalese children urgently need assistance .

Aid groups and at least 16 nations rushed aid and workers to Nepal , with more on the way .

High-altitude rescue efforts have also been undertaken on the difficult terrain of Mount Everest , where the earthquake released deadly avalanches .

Four U.S. citizens are among those who died on Everest , according to officials and relatives .

Damage to climbing infrastructure on the mountain , not to mention the overall situation in Nepal , means the climbing season is over for the year , climber Jim Davidson told CNN from the Everest base camp , where he was evacuated after spending two days on the mountain .

China has canceled all climbs on its side of the mountain , the official news agency Xinhua reported .

Are you in Nepal or do you have loved ones affected ? Please share with us if you are in a safe place .

How to help the earthquake victims

Fast facts on earthquakes

CNN 's Ivan Watson and Tim Hume reported from Kathmandu ; CNN 's Jethro Mullen wrote and reported from Hong Kong , and Laura Smith-Spark wrote from London . CNN 's Elizabeth Joseph , Pamela Boykoff , Manesh Shrestha , Sumnima Udas , Kristie Lu Stout , Anjali Tsui , Kunal Sehgal and Ingrid Formanek also contributed to this report .

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Death toll in Nepal climbs above 4,600 , officials say , with more than 9,000 injured

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Shattered villages near epicenter are hard to reach , says aid worker in the area

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More bad weather is forecast for the region in the coming days